SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane County schools are seeing a decrease in measles vaccination rates among kindergarteners, according to data by the Washington Department of Health (DOH).
Washington DOH reported that 86.6% of kindergarteners had completed the measles vaccine for the 2024-2025 school year, compared to 92.6% in the 2019-2020 school year. Measles is classified as a contagious disease in schools under Washington state law. Dr. Mark Springer, the communicable disease program manager for Spokane Regional Health District, emphasized the importance of preventing outbreaks in schools.
“One of our goals is to really make sure that we don’t put someone in a school setting that is potentially going to develop measles,” Springer said.
According to Dr. Mike Barsotti, chief administrative officer at Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital, the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is crucial for protection.
“The first dose will protect you 92% of the time, the second dose will protect you 97% of the time,” Barsotti said.
The vaccine is administered in two doses, with the first given around one year of age and the second before starting school.
Washington state law requires students to have both doses of the MMR vaccine to enroll in school, with exemptions allowed for religious or medical reasons.
However, since 2019, personal or philosophical exemptions are not permitted. Despite this, the percentage of kindergarteners claiming a religious exemption has increased to 6.3% in the 2024-2025 school year.
Spokane Public Schools are strict about vaccine compliance.
“We are very very strict about vaccine compliance in Spokane Public Schools. We know which students have an exemption, which students are vaccinated,” said SPS Executive Director of School Support Services Becky Doughty.
“It helps us be able to respond in a more timely fashion around notification and taking care of these kids,” Doughty explained.
In the event of an outbreak, Spokane Public Schools plans to utilize strategies developed during the COVID pandemic to provide learning resources for students who may need to stay home.
“Really, we’re going to be dusting off some of our, our conversations around providing educational resources to kids,” Doughty said.
Dr. Springer also explained that even if overall immunization rates appear high, localized areas with lower rates can lead to quick transmission.
“Even if we say, you know, with this school district, our immunization rate is 92%, it doesn’t mean that’s the case in every building,” Springer said.
The Washington Department of Health has identified 11 cases of measles this year, with the latest case involving an infant in Spokane County.
